Branding Profile ~ Help The Aged Becomes AgeUK

Walking down Southbourne high street the other day, I couldn’t help notice where the old Help The Aged charity was there is now a spanking new charity shop with a bright window display and even funky new shelving and display stands inside. Glancing up at the signage showed me that a rebrand had taken place, and my design radar started pinging! I then noticed that they hadn’t just upgraded the signage and the interior, but moved the new shop next door to the old one. Spotting the old sign on the vacant shop, I decided to stand back and take a quick photo to show the before-and-after impact of the rebrand:

After some snooping around, it turns out that early last year Age Concern and Help the Aged had combined to form a mega-charity, and appointed two advertising agencies to spearhead a new launch campaign. Following the trend of London agencies having obscure and often ludicrous names, Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw and Karmarama were given the task of making old, cool. Well, maybe not cool as such, but certainly less cabbgey and lace curtainy.

I think they’ve done a good job. I didn’t catch the TV commercials, but I love what they’ve done with the shop fronts and interiors. Looking at the photo above shows the benefits; the new logo is simple and understated, the colours work well and the Moebius strip/infinity loop hints at life going on without end (personally I want to go out with a bang).

A friend also suggested that the new title of AgeUK is less suggestive, and that the old wording of “Help the Aged” sounded too demanding on the shopper, and too patronising to the elderly. I mean, Brian Cox is old and I reckon he could kick my arse without too much trouble.